As the density of semiconductor devices increases and the size of circuit elements becomes smaller, the resistance capacitance (RC) delay time increasingly dominates the circuit performance. To reduce the RC delay, there is a desire to switch from conventional dielectrics to low-k dielectrics. These materials are particularly useful as intermetal dielectrics (IMDs), and as interlayer dielectrics (ILDs). However, low-k materials present problems during processing, especially during the processing of the conductive material used to make interconnects.